My Days In Sri Lanka

Check in here, check in there. Fly here, fly there. Hotel here, hotel there. Everyone's flying here and there, whether for business or leisure. Does travel necessarily mean flying all the time? Driving here and there is also another form of travel, besides motorcyling and bicycling. And what's there to life if not to travel and see the world, if not the local areas of interest? Why confine ourselves to the local culture and sights? Get out of our cocoon and let's see the world!

Life's temporary and before we find ourselves at the end of our lifetime, we got on a flight to Sri Lanka last April. The memories still fresh in my mind, better pen it down before the grey matter fails me! With the plane safely landing in Bandaranaike (Colombo), we hopped onto a public bus and headed towards town to catch a public bus, where we mingled around with the friendly locals during the 6 hours bus ride to Dumbala, where we stayed the night. Flagged down a tuk-tuk to the boutique hotel nested in a village (no, not the tree house), far away from the hustle and bustle of the town. A little too quiet, with the sound of water other than the chirping of insects.

An hour's ride by tuk-tuk to this Unesco World Heritage site by the name of Sigiriya. A solitary mass of rock, 200 metres high, in the middle of nowhere, that's how I'd describe it. A fort is found at the top, where the prince settled, to keep his distance away from enemies. Iron steps have been built against the rock, which is quite an engineering feat, for tourists to get a closer look at the frescoes and climb to to the top. It offers a great view, with the strong breeze cooling the nerves and grit of those who made it to the top. A 45 minutes slow climb, amidst a crowd of other like-minded tourists. Top of the world feeling, or almost at least. How this rock came to be here, it's a wonder in itself.

What else to see in a Buddhist populated country other than temples, right? After Sigiriya, a trip to the Rock Temple was next in the list. Situated on a rock, a quick run to the top is called, just so that there'll be no questions in the mind, what's up there. A temple carved into the rock was found and you had to remove your footwear in order to step into the temple's grounds. With the sun shining energetically, the rock surface would be able to fry eggs! And so, I daintily traversed the hot surface, with the thoughts of my nice footwear in mind. On the way down, saw this ice-cream vendor selling home made cold stuff. Though we were warned on the hygiene aspects, threw caution to the wind and had not one, but two of it. Superb, cold dairy product to sooth the soul!

As it's costly to travel from place to place, it's best to plan your journey. With each 20 minutes ride costing about USD$8, unplanned trips can be costly. The cab drivers are friendly folks, stopping at temples to pray, a sign of devoutness to their beliefs, grateful for a life that's challenging but with simple wants in life. Able to communicate in a smattering of the English language, managed to strike short conversations throughout the rides, getting to know the local culture.

The local food is culturally similar to what the Indians eat. And from where I come from, and that's Malaysia, the type of food is also similar. Again, we are reminded of our friend's advice to only consume food at more established eateries, we again threw caution to the wind as how else to celebrate local culture if not to be like them? The food was great, with the Indian spices and all, and soon, our stomachs filled. Time to take yet another public bus where it's a 4 hours' bus ride to Nurwara Eliya, the Malaysian equivalent of Cameron Highlands, a place for tea.

Our abode for the night, the Hill Club, was a magnificient left over of colonial times. Where the rich and snobs gather for their social meetings, the clubhouse had ancient looking snooker tables and reading rooms where you're required to be attired in gentleman coats before you're allowed in. Such preservation of snobbish culture permeates till today, in this clubhouse. However, you're allowed to borrow DVDs in case you get bored. So, a walk to the town we went, for our meal and sights. With the temperature so low, it gets to our bones. And so, got onto a tuk-tuk and headed home.

Notwithstanding the overall low income feeling of the country, we still managed to find some life in the hotel that we stayed. This time, in the town of Kandi, where the city wasn't within walking distance. So, one trip to the town to witness the opening of the shrine to Buddha's Tooth Relic, Sri Dalada Maligawa. With much pomp and celebration with hypnotic drum beatings, the doors were opened to the lucky few who were present. A fiercely guarded item, the tooth relic symbolised power for the rulers. We were quite lucky to be there as it's one of the few days that the shrine is opened for viewing.

The following day, an 8 hours train ride to Colombo took us through the massive tea plantations, which offered us a view reminiscent of again, Cameron Highlands. Workers could be seen trimming the trees for their leaves and we rode through the undulating hillside topography. Our special coach was the only air conditioned one, with wi-fi and two meals thrown into the package. Bored with the long ride, we also sat in the special outdoor section to enjoy the cool and refreshing hill air and chat with the other locals on board, friendly as they are.

How's this for their local version of nasi lemak? Back in town of Colombo before our return flight to Malaysia, we had a day to venture across this capital city. So, we've gone from the airport to the hills and covered the sea in Colombo. And that's only less than 1/3 area of Sri Lanka which we've covered in 6 days. As Colombo is located next to the sea, the sun was beating on our backs, necessitating us to seek shelter here and there. The ocean view was great, against the background of the city, it's waves crashing onto the rocks placed as a barrier against soil erosion. A great place to visit, and don't take the negative views in it's entirety, but make it a point to discover this country by yourself and savour the superb hospitality and scenery that this island south of India has to offer! Till the next travel story, signing off for now.

The 'wade' which I had to try on the 6 hours bus ride to Dumbala. During the entire journey, there wasn't any toilet breaks. And fortunately for us, there wasn't any need to. Otherwise, it's a long wait for the next bus at 0400 hrs the next morning! There's only two buses for the entire day.

The Lion's rock, otherwise known as Sigiriya. Located on the left side of this knob of a rock, there's metal steps which will lead you up to the top, if you're not afraid of heights. Just don't look down!

The view of the hotel's swimming pool in the morning. Does the fog give you that inviting feeling to go for a swim? Yes, it's that cold and therefore, I chose to walk around the perimeter to capture more photographs. There's a river beside the swimming pool. The hotel being 'The Citadel'. The name sounds like a church and even the front end looks like a church, hence it's name is apt. A great place and a comfortable one to spend the night in. Reminiscent of Fraser's Hill, Malaysia.

The internals of the Temple of Buddha's Tooth Relic. Prayers are held each evening and as long as you don't irritate them with flashes of your photography attempts, you're cool. Just set it to 'No Flash' and you'll be ok.

One of the public buses that we took in Colombo. Very cheap mode of transport through the city. With friendly people all around, it's easy to find your way. There's prayer images in all the buses, signifying their deep cultural belief in their beliefs.

The bus station at Kandy. With the old and faithful buses plying the route, it really gives the feeling of antiquity to the place. A place where things are slow moving and the people getting about in their daily lives without the hustle and bustle that we associate with back in Kuala Lumpur.

Colombo, as seen from the viewing platform which has been constructed to stretch 30 metres into the sea. It offers tourists a good selfie or wefie view, for memories sake. The Indian Ocean meets the city of Colombo. From the mountains to the sea, we've covered it all!